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They missed Old Forge head coach Michael Schuback with the Gatorade shower.

Maybe that's because they didn't turn that task over to running back Brian Tomasetti, who led the way as the fourth-ranked Blue Devils stunned No. 1 Dunmore, 21-0, before an announced crowd of 4,400 Friday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The senior tailback pounded his way to 138 yards on 29 carries, scored a pair of touchdowns, and returned an interception 65 yards for another touchdown in the showdown of District 2 Class A powers.

"Any time you get a win over a great team with great coaches like Dunmore, it means a lot to the program," Tomasetti said.

While Tomasetti's numbers shined, he had plenty of help.

Up front, center Tyler Clark and guards Tony DeSando and Paul Papi opened running lanes that allowed Old Forge (4-0) to control the ball for nearly 17 minutes in the first half.

On defense, inside linebackers Shane Schuback and Jorden Sekol combined for 15 tackles and two fumble recoveries, and the defense held the Bucks (3-1) without a first down in the first two quarters.

"We just had to come out and play big," Shane Schuback said. "We know they're a running team and we had to shut them down. Jordan and I did that real well, and our line was amazing. They did everything for us. We were coming in with clean shots.

"We have huge guys up front and they are taking care of everything for us."

Even special teams got into the act, with Jake Manetti recovering an early muffed punt, one of four turnovers that Old Forge converted into all its points.

It took five plays after the miscue for Tomasetti to follow his trio in the middle of the line on a 2-yard touchdown midway through the opening quarter.

"They are three really strong guys and they come to work every week," Tomasetti said. "I'm very confident every time I get the ball that there is going to be a hole there, and there really was tonight.

"That recovery was big and we punched it in, and that was huge. We wanted to get on the board first because Dunmore's a great team. You don't want to be in a long game with them because they'll wear you down."

Actually, it was Old Forge that did the wearing down, running 35 plays in the first half and stifling Dunmore, which ran only 12 plays for 12 yards of offense.

"We just played the way we play, with physicality," said Sekol, who was also Tomasetti's lead blocker much of the night. "Putting up 21 points against the third-ranked team in the state, it's unbelievable."

Dunmore played without standout tailbacks Austin Seamon and Daiqwon Buckley, both injured, but Bucks' coach Jack Henzes made no excuses.

"They beat us both offensively and defensively," Henzes said. "We didn't have very many first downs and we didn't block them well and didn't tackle them well. They did that much better than we did tonight."

Even though Dunmore was outplayed in the first 24 minutes, the Bucks only trailed by a score, until Tomasetti picked off a pass and had green grass and a wall of blockers in front of him.

"I got it and followed my blockers," Tomasetti said. "My teammates did the rest. Everyone converged on the left. I figured I'd bounce it outside and it worked."

Old Forge's defense had one more big play left, with Sekol recovering a fumble at the Dunmore 40.

Six plays later, Tomasetti scored from a yard out with 5:37 left in the third, all but icing the win.

"Our kids were really focused and wanted to play in this type of game, in this type of playoff atmosphere," coach Schuback said.

"We made more plays than they did, and that's what it came down to.

"Dunmore's a good team and they're going to be playing into late November with all of us."

Contact the writer: mmyers@timesshamrock.com On Twitter@mmtimes

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